High Tension

"Hearts will bleed."

2003 1h 31m FR

👍

6.8

SOLID

🥫

41%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.7

IMDB

★6.8TMDB · 1,525🥫41%Rotten Tomatoes●42Metacritic★6.7IMDB · 82,016

HorrorThrillerMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Best friends Marie and Alexia decide to spend a quiet weekend at Alexia's parents' secluded farmhouse. But on the night of their arrival, the girls' idyllic getaway turns into an endless night of horror.

“Hearts will bleed.”

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Cast

Cécile de France
Marie
Maïwenn
Alexia
Philippe Nahon
The Killer
Andrei Finti
Alex' Father
Oana Pellea
Alex' Mother
Marco Claudiu Pascu
Tom
Franck Khalfoun
Jimmy
Jean-Claude de Goros
Gendarmerie Captain

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alexandre Aja
Writers: Grégory Levasseur, Alexandre Aja, Adrian Cancer
Languages: Italian, English, French
Countries: France, Romania

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 23 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Italian, English, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: France, Romania.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alexandre Aja, shot by Maxime Alexandre. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by François-Eudes Chanfrault. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Al Rundle shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Cécile de France and Maïwenn and Philippe Nahon carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alexandre Aja directs. Maxime Alexandre behind the camera. François-Eudes Chanfrault scores. Al Rundle cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in France, Romania. Dialogue in Italian, English, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Released 23 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Italian, English, French.
4International production across 2 countries: France, Romania.
5Directed by Alexandre Aja, shot by Maxime Alexandre. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by François-Eudes Chanfrault. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Al Rundle shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Cécile de France and Maïwenn and Philippe Nahon carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Hearts will bleed.".
10IMDB entry: tt0338095 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 22 themes, including "countryside", "insanity", "mass murder", "gore".
12Released under 19 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Maxime Alexandre
Original score: François-Eudes Chanfrault
Editing: Al Rundle
Production design: Renald Cotte Verdy
Makeup / hair: Andrea Dardea Tesdall
VFX supervisor: Christophe Chanvin
Sound: Didier Lozahic
Runtime: 91 min · 1h 31m
Status: Released
Budget: $2,500,000
Box office: $6,291,958
Return: 252% of budget
Original language: FR
Certification (US): R
IMDB: High Tension (2003)
Rotten Tomatoes: 41% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 42/100
IMDB rating: 6.7/10 · 82,016 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

6 wins & 9 nominations total

Sitges Film Festival Best Actress award
Sitges Film Festival Best Director award

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Alexandre Aja

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522026-08-17
★ 4/10
This is one I last saw probably in 2003/04 on DVD. As I began re-watching there were bits and pieces that looked familiar but I didn't remember much else... until the third act and twist ending. Then I remembered how much I hated it. The first half in the house and later the gas station were genuinely suspenseful but all of that was undermined by a terrible twist that made no sense. At the very least Cécile De France was good in the lead role. 2.25/5

Production companies